St George Illawarra have farewelled departing veterans Gareth Widdop and Jeremy Latimore on a winning note, with the Dragons overcoming Gold Coast 24-16 on Saturday night. The match was a see-sawing affair, with both teams producing a number of long-range efforts and momentum swinging on multiple occasions. Ultimately it was the Dragons who were able to close out the game, with a 72nd minute Ben Hunt try sealing the victory. The win puts an end to a disappointing season for St George Illawarra, with Paul McGregor's side finishing in 15th, the worst result in the joint-venture's history. Gold Coast may have claimed the wooden spoon, however they opened the match the more energetic of the two sides and that enthusiasm quickly translated into points. It was in-demand forward Jai Arrow who opened the scoring in the 13th minute, the Queenslander latching on to a Jarrod Wallace offload before he brushed away Jackson Ford and Paul Vaughan to cross under the posts. Read more: Illawarra League 2019: Neighbours braced for grand final street fight The match slowly started to swing back in the Dragons favour, with Gold Coast unable to capitalise on their dominance with the ball in hand. A number of errors and poor fifth-tackle options invited St George Illawarra back into the match, with the Dragons handed numerous opportunities to level the scores. Like they have for much of the season, McGregor's men struggled to convert those chances into points, with Gold Coast defending their goal line with plenty of enthusiasm. With the Dragons unable to break through, momentum swung back towards the Titans and a second Gold Coast try looked a real possibility. Tim Lafai and Jonus Pearson had other ideas, however, with Lafai producing a brilliant flick pass 30 metres out from his own line to put Pearson into space. With 70m to run, the winger had plenty of work to do, but he made it look easy, beating Mitch Rein and Michael Gordon to cross under the sticks in the 35th minute. A simple Gareth Widdop conversion levelled the scores and the two teams headed to halftime locked at 6-6. Upon the resumption, it was the Titans who had the first opportunity to break through, Tanah Boyd denied by a desperate Korbin Sims who punched the ball free as the Titans halfback dived over the try line. St George Illawarra made the most of their reprieve, when they crossed for their second long range try of the match through Corey Norman in the 45th minute. The try acted as a spark for the Dragons, with the visitors suddenly adopting a more expansive style of attack. With the Titans tiring, St George Illawarra started to throw the ball around from deep within their own half and the results were immediate. Pearson and Lafai both made long-range breaks, with the Dragons only denied by some desperate Gold Coast defence. Just as had been the case throughout the first half, it didn't take long for the match to swing back in the Titans favour. Moments after Josh Kerr was denied by a brilliant try-saving tackle, Gold Coast produce a long-range effort of their own, with Mitch Rein crossing to bring the scores to 12-10. While the Titans had chances to hit the lead, the Dragons defence held firm and it was ultimately Hunt who crossed for the first of his two tries in the 66th minute to extend the margin beyond one converted try. A second Hunt try sealed the result, with Phillip Sami crossing for a late consolation try, the Dragons triumphing 24-16. While you're with us the Illawarra Mercury is offering sport readers 20% off an annual digital subscription. Sign up to stay up to date with all the local sports you love for only $3.00 a week. Terms and conditions apply.

St George Illawarra finish disappointing season in winning fashion

Winning finish: Gareth Widdop closed out his Dragons career with a victory on Saturday night. Picture: NRL Imagery/Scott Davis.

St George Illawarra have farewelled departing veterans Gareth Widdop and Jeremy Latimore on a winning note, with the Dragons overcoming Gold Coast 24-16 on Saturday night.

The match was a see-sawing affair, with both teams producing a number of long-range efforts and momentum swinging on multiple occasions.

Ultimately it was the Dragons who were able to close out the game, with a 72nd minute Ben Hunt try sealing the victory.

The win puts an end to a disappointing season for St George Illawarra, with Paul McGregor's side finishing in 15th, the worst result in the joint-venture's history.

Gold Coast may have claimed the wooden spoon, however they opened the match the more energetic of the two sides and that enthusiasm quickly translated into points.

It was in-demand forward Jai Arrow who opened the scoring in the 13th minute, the Queenslander latching on to a Jarrod Wallace offload before he brushed away Jackson Ford and Paul Vaughan to cross under the posts.

The match slowly started to swing back in the Dragons favour, with Gold Coast unable to capitalise on their dominance with the ball in hand.

A number of errors and poor fifth-tackle options invited St George Illawarra back into the match, with the Dragons handed numerous opportunities to level the scores.

Like they have for much of the season, McGregor's men struggled to convert those chances into points, with Gold Coast defending their goal line with plenty of enthusiasm.

With the Dragons unable to break through, momentum swung back towards the Titans and a second Gold Coast try looked a real possibility.

Tim Lafai and Jonus Pearson had other ideas, however, with Lafai producing a brilliant flick pass 30 metres out from his own line to put Pearson into space.

With 70m to run, the winger had plenty of work to do, but he made it look easy, beating Mitch Rein and Michael Gordon to cross under the sticks in the 35th minute.

A simple Gareth Widdop conversion levelled the scores and the two teams headed to halftime locked at 6-6.

Upon the resumption, it was the Titans who had the first opportunity to break through, Tanah Boyd denied by a desperate Korbin Sims who punched the ball free as the Titans halfback dived over the try line.

St George Illawarra made the most of their reprieve, when they crossed for their second long range try of the match through Corey Norman in the 45th minute.

The try acted as a spark for the Dragons, with the visitors suddenly adopting a more expansive style of attack.

With the Titans tiring, St George Illawarra started to throw the ball around from deep within their own half and the results were immediate.

Pearson and Lafai both made long-range breaks, with the Dragons only denied by some desperate Gold Coast defence.

Just as had been the case throughout the first half, it didn't take long for the match to swing back in the Titans favour.

Moments after Josh Kerr was denied by a brilliant try-saving tackle, Gold Coast produce a long-range effort of their own, with Mitch Rein crossing to bring the scores to 12-10.

While the Titans had chances to hit the lead, the Dragons defence held firm and it was ultimately Hunt who crossed for the first of his two tries in the 66th minute to extend the margin beyond one converted try.

A second Hunt try sealed the result, with Phillip Sami crossing for a late consolation try, the Dragons triumphing 24-16.

While you're with us the Illawarra Mercury is offering sport readers 20% off an annual digital subscription. Sign up to stay up to date with all the local sports you love for only $3.00 a week. Terms and conditions apply.